Return of the Legendary Runesmith-Chapter 91 - 90- Shelter her(1)

Adrian stood inside the Time Chamber, eyes fixed on the magical staff in his hands.

It was supposed to be taken by the Acolytes during the ambush. That had been the plan. But Adrian had ruined it—on purpose. After all, how could he let such a dangerous artifact fall into their hands? So, before anyone could notice, he took it for himself.

Not that Ariana or the academy would’ve done anything useful with it. She wasn’t planning to use the staff, and leaving it with her would’ve been a waste. On the other hand, the Acolytes had far bigger plans.

They would’ve used this staff to summon troops in a future arc—something Adrian wasn’t about to let happen.

Eventually, Allen gets hold of the staff too. He breaks off the ornament from the crown and keeps it. That tiny piece turns out to be far more important than it looks.

See, in this world, sorcery is something reserved for those who follow the evil God. But mana? Mana is everywhere. Everyone has it. So, if someone has a proper catalyst, like this ornament, they can cast the one spell it’s built for.

It works kind of like a rune. The spell is already sealed inside. You just need to pour magic into it, and the enchantment will activate. Simple. Efficient. And unlike runes, it doesn’t care about distance or grade restrictions.

Of course, teleportation is another story. It’s not something just anyone can do. You need a huge mana reserve and a fifth-grade weapon by your side.

Which is why this staff is perfect for Adrian.

Teleportation is now within his reach.

He turned the staff over in his hands, eyeing the purple gem embedded at the top. It was as big as his fist, glowing softly. A tool like this couldn’t be left out in the open. He needed to hide it somewhere subtle, somewhere only he could use it at a moment’s notice.

"Let’s see..." he muttered, thinking, but soon he gave up.

’Well, let’s think about it later. System, show me my stats.’

[Name: Adrian]

[Age: 23]

[Race: Human]

[Str: 20]

[Spd: 20]

[End: 21]

[MP: 150/150] (Avg: 100)

[HP: 100/100]

...again, endurance growing but not any other stat. This is the disadvantage of using a ranged weapon. He relies on his revolver too much.

’I am down to fifteen bullets now. Need to be careful.’ There was no possible way to recreate these bullets on his own, so the only means left was the cross-dimensional group chat.

’And to gain access to it...’ He had ten days left to finish the challenge, or the system wouldn’t give him the server access anytime soon. And the duration of the chamber would return to being six hours again.

’Haah~let’s study.’

Deciding to think about the gemstone later, he picked up the book and focused on how to connect the third thread.

°°°°°°°°°

Ariana had seen this coming—but that didn’t make it any less frustrating.

The First and Second Princes were both present, along with the Commander of the Imperial Legion and the Chief Advisor. Their presence turned the Headmistress’s office into something closer to a royal court than a schoolroom.

As soon as word of the incident reached them, they rushed to the Academy, demanding answers.

Aside from the four officials, Instructor Roman and Professor Gilbert were also in the room. And seated nervously beside her brother was a single student.

Sylvie.

The air was heavy with silence. No one spoke because they were waiting for the one person directly tied to the chaos. They wanted his side of the story.

Finally, a knock came at the door. Gilbert stood and opened it.

"Good evening, gentlemen," Adrian said as he walked in and calmly took a seat beside Ariana, as if this were just another casual meeting.

Edward, the First Prince, offered a brief, polite smile to Professor Adrian, with whom he’d recently become acquainted. The Second Prince, Augustus Valmoran, simply narrowed his eyes at Adrian, clearly not pleased.

Adrian wasn’t surprised.

He’d heard things about Augustus. Like most of the Valmoran family, he was deeply fond of Sylvie. And that alone was enough to explain his presence here.

The Chief Advisor rose to speak. He was tall, with a strong frame and neatly combed black hair. If Adrian remembered right, his name was Theodore Odwer.

"First of all," Theodore began, his tone even and composed, "let me congratulate you on your victory against the evil god worshipper. What you achieved took both bravery and strength. It’s something to be proud of."

His words were clearly meant to ease the tension, to bring some warmth into the cold room. But with the younger prince wearing such grim expressions, even kindness struggled to breathe.

Still, the Advisor continued.

"To ensure the safety of everyone at the Academy, we’ve temporarily assigned a number of soldiers to guard the premises. This will remain in place until a more permanent defense strategy is approved."

He looked at Adrian then, expectantly. The weight of every eye in the room followed.

Ariana didn’t say anything on the matter since she herself feels that there can be another layer of security. In the past, she didn’t think the school would be targeted by such a huge number of Acolytes, that’s why she deemed herself enough to tackle any kind of trouble.

After thanking and praising the school management and all, the main topic is finally brought to light.

"Talking about preparations, it was reported that several traps were planted around the academy to counter the Acolytes," Theodore stated...or more like asked.

After a brief pause, he added, "Are these traps always active at night?"

Ariana knew they already had the answer, so there was no point in lying, "No. They were planted purposely to counter the Acolytes."

The Chief Advisor’s brows went up, "Oh...so you already knew about the ambush, huh?"

Adrian inwardly sighed.

This was going to be a long discussion.

°°°°°°°°

A/N:- Spare my man. Thanks for reading